Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University & Research, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Resource Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3a, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2018 Mar 1;94(3). doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiy017.
The microbiota of the mammalian gut is a complex ecosystem, the composition of which is greatly influenced by host genetics and environmental factors. In this study, we aim to investigate the influence of occupancy (a geographical area of habitation), species, age and sex on intestinal microbiota composition of the three lemur species: Eulemur fulvus, E. rubriventer and E. rufifrons. Faecal samples were collected from a total of 138 wild lemurs across Madagascar, and microbial composition was determined using next-generation sequencing of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments. Consistent with reports from other primate species, the predominant phyla were Firmicutes (43 ± 6.4% [s.d.]) and Bacteroidetes (30.3 ± 5.3%). The microbial composition was strongly associated with occupancy in the E. fulvus population, with up to 19.9% of the total variation in microbial composition being explained by this factor. In turn, geographical differences observed in faecal microbiota of sympatric lemur species were less pronounced, as was the impact of the factors sex and age. Our findings showed that among the studied factors occupancy had the strongest influence on intestinal microbiota of congeneric lemur species. This suggests adaptation of microbiota to differences in forest composition, climate variations and correspondingly available diet in different geographical locations of Madagascar.
哺乳动物肠道的微生物群落是一个复杂的生态系统，其组成在很大程度上受到宿主遗传和环境因素的影响。在这项研究中，我们旨在调查占据的地理区域、物种、年龄和性别对三种狐猴物种（红腹缟狸、红领缟狸和红颊长吻狸）肠道微生物群落组成的影响。从马达加斯加的总共 138 只野生狐猴中采集粪便样本，并使用聚合酶链反应扩增的 16S rRNA 基因片段的下一代测序来确定微生物组成。与其他灵长类动物的报告一致，主要的门是厚壁菌门（43 ± 6.4% [标准差]）和拟杆菌门（30.3 ± 5.3%）。微生物组成与 E. fulvus 种群的占据高度相关，该因素解释了微生物组成总变异的 19.9%。反过来，在共生狐猴物种的粪便微生物群中观察到的地理差异不太明显，性别和年龄等因素的影响也是如此。我们的研究结果表明，在所研究的因素中，占据对同属狐猴物种的肠道微生物群有最强的影响。这表明了微生物群对马达加斯加不同地理位置的森林组成、气候变化和相应的可利用饮食差异的适应性。
